


Supernatural Third Wheel

by Darcy_Moore



Category: Supernatural
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-13 20:56:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19259044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darcy_Moore/pseuds/Darcy_Moore
Summary: This is a fanfic I started on Fanfic.net but I wanted to move here.Prologue:Darcy Harrison is a weird kid, a middle child, and plagued by dreams.  Her family is sending her away because of these dreams so that she can get the help she needs.  Before she goes they take one last camping trip and are attacked by a Supernatural creature.  Only Darcy knows how to kill it but not before her older brother and mother are attacked.Now she knows that her dreams are more than weirdness.  She had seen their deaths coming for weeks and ignored it.  More than that, her Uncle John and her cousin Dean have arrived to take her away from the rest of her family and train her.  Evil will always find her and this is the safest plan.Series:Darcy has been on the road with her uncle and cousin for the last three years but Uncle John's latest hunting trip has lasted longer than previously planned.  Now her cousin is bringing in Sam to help them find Uncle John.





	1. Road So Far

**Author's Note:**

> Most of these stories are going to be a ret-con of the original episodes, adding in a little extra plot.

"I don't care," Darcy Harrison yelled, "I'm not going to some freak school." She slammed the door to her bedroom and locked it.

Darcy Harrison was the fourteen-year-old middle child of the Harrison family. She had long auburn hair and green eyes. At that moment she was distraught because her parents told her that after the big family camping trip she was going to be sent away to some school. Darcy knew why she was being sent away. Over the last few months, many strange things had been occurring, and Darcy always found herself in the middle of it.

Some of the weirder things were when she and her friend Jane were in the weight room of their school. Some football player was showing off without a spotter, and Darcy saved him by deadlifting almost 300lbs. Once when she was running in the park with her older brother, Frank, she heard a ball whizzing toward them and turned to catch it before it hit Frank in the head. These and other occurrences were seen by the other students who began calling her BionicGirl. Eventually, the teachers noticed too, and Frank decided to tell their parents.

There was a knock on the door.

"Go away," Darcy yelled, "I don't want to talk to anyone."

"Not even me?" came a voice from the other side of the door. It was Darcy's little brother, Will. She begrudgingly opened the door.

A twelve-year-old with blonde hair, holding a lollipop, looked up at her innocently. "Sorry," he said. A moment later, an older version of Will slipped through the door.

Darcy frowned at Frank. "I'm not surprised that you would bribe our little brother," she said, "I mean it fits with your streak of being a rat."

"I am not a rat," Frank said, feigning hurt.

"Thanks to you," Darcy said, "Mom and Dad think I'm a freak."

"No one thinks you're a freak," the nineteen-year-old said, "right Will."

"I always thought she was a freak," Will said, focusing more on his lollipop, "but only because she's a girl." Will left and skipped back to his bedroom.

Frank turned to Darcy. "How did you know about Aunt Mary?" he asked. Aunt Mary was never mentioned anymore around the Harrison house. She had died in a fire eighteen years ago, and husband and kids were not a part of the Harrisons' life. Three days ago, Darcy had been sleepwalking. She walked to her father's office, into a closet and found some pictures of Aunt Mary. Frank found her shortly after that screaming about fire, blood, and saving the children.

In all of the commotion over Darcy's nocturnal it took over a day for everyone to remember that Jane, who had stayed over that night, had gone missing.

"I don't know," Darcy said honestly, "I just felt something, and then I saw it. The baby, the fire, and Aunt Mary, she was on the ceiling."

"Well, other than Aunt Mary dying in some peculiar fire all the rest was a dream," Frank said, "now finish getting packed. A family trip is planned for daybreak."

In the woods

The Harrison family was scheduled to be camping for six days. It was now day two, and Darcy had weird feelings. She and her brother had heard a wolf prowling around right outside of their camp. Frank told Darcy not to worry about the wolf because the fire would keep it back.

Darcy still couldn't shake this weird feeling though. That night as everyone took turns telling ghost stories, Darcy sat back. She usually had the best stories which she found on the internet, them embellished with her own imagination.

"Then, as she turned on the lights. She saw her best friend mangled and bleeding in the bed. Written on the wall was. 'Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the lights?'" Frank bowed as his parents and brother applauded. "Now it's Darcy's turn, "Frank said, "calling attention to the quiet teenager, "and I know that she has a story for us."

With her family's encouragement, Darcy took the storyteller's position in front of the campfire. She told the story of a were-jaguar called a kenaima. It was an Olmec and said to practically unkillable without a blessed blade. It feared water and fed on happiness. When Darcy was finished, her mother said it was time for bed. The parents went to their tent, and the three Harrison children were given the more massive tent to share. After announcing their goodnights and dousing the fire, the family went to bed.

Dream

"Hello, Darcy," came a voice from outside the tent, "won't you come out and play?"

Darcy sat up in her sleeping bag and could now see the glow of a fire through her tent wall. She quietly snuck past her brothers and out of the tent.

Before Darcy, stood a little girl in a white dress, with dark hair and milk-white eyes. There was a blazing fire between them.

"I'm glad you could join us." said the little girl.

Darcy turned her head as Jane walked up to the fire. Her eyes looked weird too. It was almost as though they were completely black.

On the Road (Two weeks later)

John Winchester and his son Dean, twenty-two, were heading toward a small Louisiana town when John received a phone call. It was from his brother-in-law. After talking to him for twenty minutes, he and Dean were off in the direction of the Harrison home.

On the way, John explained to Dean that his uncle had called. The uncle's family had been attacked by supernatural creatures and was now choosing to believe that John was not so crazy. Dean hadn't even known that his uncle had a family. He had never met the man in his life.

Brenham TX. Harrison House

Dean and his father arrived at the large suburban home sometime during the evening. As Dean entered the home, the faint smell of various desserts filled his nostrils. All the neighbors must have brought condolence food, Dean thought. He never understood the concept of that suburban ritual. It was like here is some food now that your whoever is dead. After an introduction, that Dean found to be as awkward as he imagined it would be, his father and uncle went into a private study to talk.

Dean meandered through a room or two of the house before coming across a young boy in what Dean assumed was a living room without a television. He had some toy cars laid out in front of him. When Dean approached the boy made little notice of him and kept playing.

"Hi," Dean said awkwardly, "You must be Will… I'm Dean… Your cousin…" Dean was getting nowhere socially with the kid. He looked down at the cars and picked one up. "Wow, a Mach 6. I used to be a huge Speed Racer fan. Thought he had the most amazing car."

"They were my brother's," the child said finally, "he gave them to me for my birthday."

"I see," Dean said, putting the car down, "So…"

"We were attacked," the boy answered almost anticipating the question in Dean's mind.

"I know," Dean said, "by a wolf."

"It wasn't a wolf," Will said quietly, "it was a kenaima."

Dean leaned in a little shocked by the boy's statement. "A what?"

"A kenaima," Will repeated, "I saw it. It was just like Darcy described it, 'A humanlike jaguar like creature that roams the woods.' It almost… and Darcy… but she couldn't…"

"Darcy?" Dean said, "That's your sister, right? Where is she?"

"She went to visit them," the boy said simply. He frowned and returned to his cars.

Cemetery

Darcy stood in front of the two new gravestones. They had been made and put up rather quickly. She barely noticed the man that walked up and stood next to her just as she chose not to acknowledge the pain throbbing through her arm. It had been bandaged and even placed in a sling.

"Hi," the man greeted.

"Hello," Darcy responded.

The two stood in silence for a few minutes.

"I'm Dean," the man finally said.

"Darcy," she responded, "and this is my mother and my brother." She never looked away from the gravestones.

"What happened to them?" Dean asked.

Darcy was silent again for a while before saying that they were attacked by a wolf.

"That's not what Will told me."

Darcy was surprised. "You've been talking to my little brother?' she asked the stranger.

"Yeah," Dean said, "I probably should have explained. I'm Dean, your cousin. I'm…"

"You're Aunt Mary's older son," Darcy said when she finally looked at him, "You have her eyes."

Dean seemed to be taken aback by the statement.

"I found a picture of your mother," Darcy explained, "My dad told me about you. I guess now we have something in common."

Dean looked at the graves and nodded. "We both have families to protect. We have dads who love us."

"And little brothers to look out for," Darcy finished.

Harrison House

Dean gave Darcy a ride home. When they got into the house, John pulled Dean over to the kitchen so they could talk.

"What's going on, Dad?" Dean asked, "That kid…"

"We're taking Darcy with us," John Winchester said with a final tone.

Dean was speechless for a moment. This had not been the response that he had expected. "Well…um…okay…wh-"

"She and her family have been marked," John explained in a low tone, "that thing that came after them was only the first of many. Your uncle and the boy are going into hiding and Darcy is coming with us."

Dean continued processing what his father was saying. It wasn't his nature to question his dad's orders, but there were so many blanks here.

John sensed the questions brewing in his son's mind and took a deep breath. "Darcy is…different. She and her family would be safer if she came with us. We're going to teach her the trade. Apparently, she is a natural. She killed a kenaima with no training what so ever. I know this isn't how we usually do things, but we are giving her the option to come with us."

Having the final word, John left the kitchen. Dean followed him out into the living room where Darcy was talking to her father. She was in tears. "It wasn't my fault," she said, "I can't believe you're still trying to get rid of me." Darcy got up and ran out of the room.

"I told her," Uncle Mike said, "that she should go with you."

John sighed and looked at Dean. "I'll go try to talk to her, Dad," Dean offered.

Darcy's room

Darcy was throwing some things into a bag when her door swung open. Dean stood in the doorway.

"I could have sworn I locked that," she said not looking in his direction.

Dean shrugged, "Maybe you did. I have a way of getting through locks. By the way, I wouldn't leave these lying around. They have more uses than you think."

Darcy looked up and saw Dean holding out a bobby pin. He tossed it on the vanity.

After a short silence, Dean spoke up again, "What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" Darcy responded.

"Just making conversation," Dean answered. He plopped down in a chair.

Darcy looked at him, inquisitively for a moment. So you don't have any problem with taking in a stranger?"

"You're family," Dean responded simply.

"I guess I don't have a choice anyway. What do you and your dad even do? Where do you live?"

"We live all over actually," Dean answered, "We don't stay in one place too long. Travel the country, fight evil. We have a pretty unpredictable life."

"Fight evil?" Darcy asked skeptically.

"Yeah," Dean replied, "Demons, ghosts… kenaimas. Heard you had quite a run-in with one of those."

"Didn't help," Darcy said in a low tone, more to herself, "look, I'd kind of like to be alone if you don't mind."

"Sure," Dean said, getting up and heading for the door, "but you are taking this news a little better than I expected. Most people freak out or deny the truth when they hear about the supernatural."

"Like you said," Darcy told him, "I fought one. Why would I not believe you."

Dean nodded and started for the door.

"Dean?"

Dean stopped and turned again.

"What do demons look like?" Darcy asked.

"They possess people, can look like people. Sometimes they have empty black eyes," Dean answered. He left the room.

Outside/ Graveyard

Uncle John had informed Darcy that they would be leaving in the morning. She said goodbye to Will and her father, who would be going as well after a few things were taken care of.

It was about 2 a.m. when Darcy slipped out of the upstairs window. There was one thing she had to do before she left for good. She was now about two miles up the road and crossing into the park. She could have sworn that she heard a noise but scanning the dark she saw no one around.

Minutes later she reached the graveyard and made the now familiar trek to where her brother and mother were.

"I wondered when you would show up here again," came a voice from the shadows.

Darcy couldn't make out the man's face. "Excuse me," she replied, backing up slightly.

"I've been watching you for about two weeks hoping to get you alone," the creep said, "I thought I had my chance yesterday until your friend showed up." He stepped forward out of the shadows and Darcy saw for the first time his black eyes. They were the same kind of eyes that Jane had in her dream.

Darcy turned and ran, but a force pushed her down. A blur came up from the other direction and tackled the demon. It was Dean. Uncle John was close behind him. He splashed what looked like water on the demon. It screamed in pain as though it was splashed with acid. Then Uncle John began reading Latin from a book. The demon was stronger than Dean and was fighting his way off of the ground. Darcy thought quickly and ran to hold the thing down. Dean and Darcy held the demon down easily. When Uncle John finished the incantation, the demon screamed as black smoke exited his mouth. The body was now limp under Darcy's pressure. She jumped back quickly.

"Is he…?" she began to ask.

"He's probably been dead for a long time," Uncle John interrupted, "he was possessed by a…"

"A demon," Darcy finished, "they can possess the dead too."

Uncle John nodded and gathered his stuff. He pulled out a can of lighter fluid and salt.

Dean took Darcy by the arm and started walking her back toward the house. She glanced back to see her uncle set fire to the body.

" He said he had been waiting for me."

"You can never tell what a demon's motives are," Dean replied.

They didn't say anything else the entire walk back.

At the House

When they got back, Uncle John said it was time to leave. Darcy slid into the back of the Impala and didn't look back as they drove away.


	2. Before the Pilot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the set up to the pilot. Dean and Darcy are handling a small problem without John. They have need a team for almost four years at this point and have grown close.

Motel in New Orleans

"Do we need to go over the plan again?"

"No, I got it. Lay the bait, set the trap."

Dean Winchester sighed as he closed the trunk. He was nervous about working a hunt without his dad. "Good, good," he said, but he was still distracted. Something was nagging at the back of his mind. He started fumbling around for his keys.

"Looking for these?"

Dean looked up and saw his cousin Darcy Moore, holding the keys to the Impala. "Do you want me to drive?" she asked.

"No, you need to practice your hoodoo," he answered. She tossed him the keys, and both got into the Impala.

Darcy had been hunting with Dean for four years. She was the daughter of his mother's brother, his uncle Mike, a man that Dean had not met until a few years ago. A demon had attacked Uncle Mike and his family, which prompted him to contact John Winchester, Dean's dad. Until that point, Uncle Mike had shunned the Winchesters and had possibly blamed John for the death of his sister.

After his encounters with the demon, Uncle Mike was convinced to let Darcy learn how to fight demons, and the rest of the family went into hiding. Darcy wasn't sure how it had all gone down, but she figured it was because she had done an excellent job helping with the demon that had attacked them. That's what John had told her. Dean knew the real reason but was sworn to secrecy. He had liked having Darcy with them on hunts. Sam had recently left to go to college, and going back to a three-person team was great. Darcy picked up the trade really well and had impressed Dean and John. She was fourteen at the time now she was seventeen with over three years of hunting under her belt.

Dean glanced over at Darcy, who was mouthing the words from the hoodoo book. "Be careful with that stuff," he warned, "it can be pretty powerful."

Darcy pushed a piece of her dark red hair out of her face and gave Dean a cocked eyebrow look.

"Okay fine," he said after a second, "you know what you're doing."

"Thank you," she said.

Dean went back to driving with a smirk on his face.

New Orleans A few hours later.

Darcy walked out of the building with a satisfied smile on her face. Another one bites the dust.

She turned around in time to see Dean exit as well. He was half covered in muck. The hoodoo ritual they had used had been a little messier than they thought it was going to be, but it did get the job done.

Darcy couldn't help but laugh as he walked past her.

"Not one word," he muttered. There was a disgusted tone to his voice, "let's just get back to the motel so I can get a shower."

Motel New Orleans

Darcy was picking through her take-out Chinese food when Dean got out of the bathroom in his pajama bottoms and a towel around his neck.

"Dude, even I don't take that long in the shower," Darcy teased as Dean grabbed one of the other containers on the table. She noticed that serious thinking face that Dean didn't usually have. When he did, it was not a good thing. "What's wrong? You did a great job today. Uncle John is going to be proud of us."

"It's not that," Dean said with a distracted tone, "just something has been nagging at me for a while. I can't figure out what. Dad hasn't contacted us in three weeks."

Darcy shrugged. "Your phone rang while you were in the shower. You have a voicemail." She got up to trash her empty carton as Dean listened to his voicemail. He turned and faced her. "What is it?"

Dean hung up his phone. "We have to go get Sam."


	3. Pilot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the first real chapter of the series. Sam joins Dean and Darcy to find Uncle John.

Stanford University

Darcy maneuvered through the bar where Sam, his girlfriend, and their friend entered. Dean opted to wait in the car so that Sam wouldn't spot him. He wasn't one for a big reunion in a bar. Darcy spotted Sam and his group at a table and got a spot on the bar nearby.

"So there you go. You're a first-round draft pick," his friend said. He was dressed like a zombie. Sam's girlfriend was a naughty nurse. Darcy thought she pulled it off well. Why was it that all girls dressed less for Halloween? Even Darcy was guilty of it. She didn't want to be conspicuously overdressed, so she went in dressed as a Slayer. It was somewhat funny and effortless to pull off with the supplies they had in the car. She couldn't hear all that was being said because the bar was so loud. She moved a little closer.

"So how does it feel to be the golden boy of your family?" the friend asked.

"Oh, they don't know," Sam replied calmly.

"Oh, I would be gloating," his friend asked loudly. He was drunk. "Why not?"

"Because we're not exactly the Bradys," Sam answered. A man in a tiara and a fairy costume leaned close to Darcy at the bar as he ordered.

"More shots!" The friend came up to Darcy on the other side of the bar. Darcy smiled at him, and he smiled back. Darcy turned and glanced at Sam and his girlfriend. They were kissing sweetly. The friend must have noticed. "You ain't getting between that. He sure does love that girl."

Darcy turned back to the friend and nodded. "Yeah, I can see that."

Outside the Bar to the Parking lot; Stanford University

Darcy slid into the passenger seat. Dean started driving.

"Sam lives in the on-campus apartments around the corner. Third floor. Apartment 3-8. Also, I get the impression that Sam hasn't told Jessica about your family history," Darcy stated.

"Okay," Dean said, "good job. Let's go."

Dean pulled into the parking lot and started counting the windows of the building. He looked over and noticed Darcy counting too.

"And what are you doing?" Dean asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Figuring out which room is Sam's," she answered.

"I already figured it out, and you're staying in the car," Dean said.

"Oh, come on," Darcy replied.

"If Sam is still on his game, he'll likely jump whoever breaks into his apartment."

"You're gonna break in?" Darcy asked, "Why not knock on the door?"

Dean got out of the car and started up the fire escape. "Because I want to see if he is still on his game."

Sam and Jess's Apartment

Sam was asleep in his bed when he heard a clattering in the kitchen. He checked on Jessica, who was asleep then made his way to the kitchen. He saw an open window and a figure move through his kitchen. He waited for the right moment then attacked the intruder. He couldn't see the guys face, but this trespasser could fight. After a long fight, the intruder got the drop on him.

In the light, Sam could see the silly smile of his older brother. "Whoa, easy tiger," Dean said with a laugh.

"Dean?" Sam said with a mixture of surprise and slight anger, "You scared the crap out of me."

"That's because you're out of practice," Dean replied. He laughed at his small victory, which gave Sam the perfect opening to drop him and get him into a hold. "Or not, get off of me."

Darcy was listening at the door and heard the sounds of a scuffle within, then low voices. She saw from under the door that a light was on and heard a woman's voice say Sam's name. With the show of machoism over, Darcy was sure that Dean wouldn't mind if she crashed the party too. After four years of riding with him, he should know better than to assume she would stay in the car. She grabbed one of her tools but accidentally dropped it to the floor.

"I love the Smurfs," she heard Dean say through the door, "You know I have got to tell you, you are completely out of my brother's league."

His voice was getting closer to the door.

"Just let me put something on," said the female voice. Darcy assumed it was Jessica.

"Oh No. I wouldn't dream of it, seriously," said Dean. The door to Sam's apartment opened. Dean stood there with the knob in his hand and half serious/ half smirk look on his face, "thought I told you to wait in the car." He turned back to Sam and Jessica. "While we're on introductions, this is Darcy."

Darcy waved at both of them and came in. Dean walked back to Sam, and Darcy followed. "Anyway, I have to borrow your boyfriend here. Talk about some private family business but nice meeting you," Dean said to Jessica.

Darcy could tell by Jessica's face that she was a little hurt by the dismissal. Sam probably could tell too because he was immediately at her side, assuring both of them that whatever had to be said could be said in front of Jessica.

Dean used a subtle choice of words to get the message across to Sam. "Dad's on a hunting trip, and he hasn't been home in a few days."

Sam's face tightened in intensity. "Jess, excuse us. We have to go outside."

Darcy addressed Dean and Sam more than Jessica, "Maybe Jessica and I could chat while you boys catch up."

Jessica nodded, and so did Dean, "Great idea."

Stairwell in the apartment complex to the parking lot.

Sam and Dean started arguing over the fact that their dad going missing wasn't a big thing. It had happened before quite a few times. That seamlessly turned into another fight about how they were raised like warriors by their father. Dean dismissed him when he brought their mom into it, and Sam changed the subject

"Don't you think Darcy is a little young for you?" Sam asked as soon as he and Dean got into the stairwell.

Dean was confused for a moment. "What? No eww," he said when he finally understood what Sam meant, "She's our cousin, Sammy. You remember Mom's uncle?"

"The one who has had nothing to do with us for twenty years? Yeah"

"Well, Darcy is his daughter. She's been hunting with us since you went running off to live your little normal apple pie life."

"No, not normal. Safe"

"And that's why you ran away?"

"I was just going to college. It was Dad who said if I was going to go I should stay gone and that's what I'm doing."

Dean looked Sam in the eye and was the most honest with him than he thought he ever had been. "…Darcy and I can't do this without you."

"I don't know about Darcy, but you can do this without me."

"Yeah but I don't want to."

Sam's Apartment

Jessica and Darcy had been chatting away about Sam's accomplishments and how he was going for an interview on Monday.

Sam came into the apartment and rushed to the bedroom. Dean wasn't with him, so Darcy figured that he was in the car. After hearing that Sam was coming with, she slipped out the door.

When she got down to the car, Dean was already in the driver's seat with the motor running. She crawled into the back seat, pushing their bags out of the way to make room.

Gas Station

When they arrived at the gas station, Dean went straight into the station, and Darcy hopped out of the back to start filling the tank. She leaned against the car and looked over at Sam. They had talked a little bit, but Sam wasn't much for conversation. Where Dean and Darcy acted like brother and sister now, to Sam, she was just some kid tagging along. He had never seen her in action and didn't know that she really had earned the right to be there on these hunts.

Dean came out of the station and handed Darcy her Dr. Pepper and a honey bun. He leaned past her and addressed Sam. "Hey, you want breakfast?"

Sam declined. Darcy hopped into the car as Dean put up the gas nozzle. "So how did you pay for that stuff?" Sam asked, "You and Dad still running credit card scams?"

"Hunting ain't exactly a pro-ball career," Dean answered, "besides, all we do is apply. It's not our fault they send us the cards." Dean hopped into the driver seat.

Darcy glanced around to see if anyone had heard Sam talking about credit card fraud while he and Dean continued their conversation. "So Darcy do you not get a card too?"

"Dude I'm only seventeen."

"And like we would trust her with a credit card," Dean teased, "Darcy's skills lie elsewhere."

Sam looked at Darcy with surprise. "What Dean means by that is I am an excellent poker player. No one expects the sweet 21-year-old to clean them out."

"Right," Sam said, returning to the box in his lap. He started in on Dean and his cassette tape collection. You're never gonna win this one, Sammy. She started rocking out to Back in Black from the back seat.

A Bridge outside of Jericho

Sam was checking out hospitals and morgues in Jericho for anyone matching their Dad's description. Like Dean hadn't done that already. Darcy was working on homework, meaning she was reading up on random lore so that she would have a more comprehensive grasp of the supernatural.

Dean had been driving for only an hour when they passed a bridge. There were a lot of cops milling around. Dean pulled over and shut off the car. "Disappear," he told Darcy. She immediately ducked down in the back seat. Dean grabbed his badge box out of the glove box. He smirked at his brother's reaction to the badges. 

As he and Sam approached the car, he heard one of the deputies say, "almost too clean." Then he and the other started talking about the missing guy dating one of their daughters.

"You fellas had another one like this last month, didn't you?" Dean asked them. They gave him a strange look which he responded to by flashing the badge.

"Federal Marshals," and he continued trying to get information, but the officers didn't seem to buy that he was a Marshal. He and Sam kept asking about connections and theories.

Sam was so not comfortable with posing as federal agents. He wanted to get the information and get out of there. He stomped Dean's foot when he made a snide remark.

"Thank you for your time, gentlemen." Sam started back toward the car. He got only a few feet before he felt a hand strike him across the back of the head.

"Oww, what was that for?" Sam asked in a sharp whisper.

"Why'd you have to step on my foot?"

"Why'd you have to talk to the police like that?"

Dean cut Sam off. "Whoa. They don't really know what's going on. We're all alone on this. I mean if we're going to find Dad we've got to get to the bottom of this thing ourselves."

Sam looked past Dean and saw a miserable old sheriff and two FBI agents standing there sizing them up.

Sam and Dean averted their eyes and made their way quickly to the car.

When they got in the car and started it up, Sam heard a voice from the backseat. "What's the story?"

"Another missing dude," Dean answered.

In the Car

Sam continued filling Darcy in as she stayed hidden. Dean gave her the all clear, and she sat up. The three of them decided to split up. Darcy would go talk to the girlfriend and Sam, and Dean would go to the library and start trying to see a pattern. Darcy would call when he had information.

Dean spotted the girls putting up flyers. "That's them."

Darcy got out of the car at the end of the street and walked over to them as Dean and Sam drove off to the library.

Jericho Library

"So what is the deal with Darcy? Why is the seventeen-year-old daughter of an uncle who has shunned our family, suddenly a hunter?" Sam asked in a whisper. Dean could tell that the questions had been piling up in that big brain of his.

Dean wasn't sure how much he should tell Sam. His father had sworn him to complete secrecy on a few details. Dean had been thinking about what he was going to tell Sam.

"Uncle Mike and his family got attacked about four years ago by a kenaima. It's like a rabid were-jaguar. Uncle Mike, Darcy and her little brother, Will, were lucky to survive, but her older brother Frank and their mother weren't so lucky. After the kenaima was taken down another supernatural thing after them, and then another. Dad figured something was coming after the family, so he had Pastor Jim help them go into hiding."

"Why didn't she go with them?" Sam asked.

Dean looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Darcy figured out how to kill the kenamia. She proved herself. Then she helped with the other things as well. Dad talked with Uncle Mike, and they decided that she would stay with us."

That was the story that Dean was sticking to. He looked at Sam's face to see if that would satisfy his curiosity. His phone started ringing.

"Hello," Dean answered, "got it. Good work." Dean hung up the phone and reported what Darcy had told him about a local legend of a ghost of a murdered female hitchhiker on Centennial.

They started searching on the internet, and after a few failed searches, they realized that maybe the ghost wasn't murdered. They found the article for the suicide of Constance Welch.

The Bridge

After they gathered the information that they needed the boys had picked Darcy up. Now all three were looking out over the bridge they had visited earlier that day. This was the same bridge that Constance Welch had taken a swan dive.

"Uncle John would have come by here if he had the same intel we got," Darcy stated. Dean nodded.

"Okay, so now what?" Sam asked as they all headed back to the car.

"We keep digging 'til we find him. It might take a while," Dean answered. His tone suggested that the answer was more than obvious.

Darcy kept walked forward a bit because she knew what was about to happen. She had heard Sam talk about his big interview at the bar.

Dean asked if Sam was serious about his plans to go back to a "normal" life and asked in Jessica would ever accept what he had done. "Sooner or later you're going to have to face up to who you really are."

"Oh yeah and who is that?" Sam asked. Darcy could tell he was angry.

Dean gestured to Darcy and himself and answered, "You're one of us."

Sam cut Dean off. "No, I am not like you. This is not going to be my life."

Darcy couldn't believe that someone could hate so much of their life and be so angry at their family. Well, she could sympathize with the last part. She had been so mad at her dad after her mother and Frank died. She was angry that her father had kept all of them in a bubble when he had been warned that this world. It had taken a while for her not to blame her father. Surprisingly a lot of the insight that had helped her was from Uncle John and Dean. It was a smart move on their part. Emotions like that only distract you if you aren't careful.

"She isn't coming back," Sam said.

In less than a second Dean had grabbed Sam and slammed him against the side of the bridge.

"Don't talk about her like that," he said as calm as he could manage.

Dean felt an arm on his shoulder. "Hey," said Darcy from behind him, "chill out. It's okay."

Dean turned and backed off. He stopped when he saw Constance balancing on the edge of the bridge. "Darc, Sam," he called, not taking his eyes off of the ghost. Constance turned and looked at the hunters before jumping off of the bridge. All three of them ran to where she had gone down.

"Where'd she go?" Dean asked. He heard a familiar sound behind him and saw the light from the Impala headlights.

"What the…?" Darcy started.

Sam stood next to Dean. "Who's driving your car?"

Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. The car peeled out and started for them. Everyone started running as fast as they could, but the car was gaining. Sam, Dean, and Darcy had no choice but to dive off of the railing.

The Motel

"One room please," Dean had said throwing down a fraudulent credit card. The clerk had pointed out that another 'Aframnian' had rented a place for the whole month. Sam and Dean kept watch while Darcy broke in. They were not surprised to see all the articles taped on the walls but the salt and cats' eye shells. He was trying to protect himself from something and, as Dean pointed out, he hadn't been there in days.

Darcy turned to Dean. "Sam and I can look through all of this, Dean. Just get a shower, will ya?"

Darcy had taken the words right out of Sam's mouth. As Dean crossed to the bathroom, Sam decided he would do the right thing. He had been pretty harsh last night. "Hey Dean," Sam said, "what I said earlier about mom and dad, I'm sorry."

Dean stopped him, "Please. No chick-flick moments."

Sam nodded, "Jerk."

"Bitch," Dean replied without missing a beat.

"Brothers," Darcy said, rolling her eyes.

Sam and Darcy looked over everything pinned on the walks while Dean was in the shower. Sam scanned the wall and found the same article that he and Dean had found.

"It's a Woman in White," Sam explained, "Dad figured it out."

Sam thought it was a little weird discussing a case with Darcy. With Dean and already it was a little easier because it was just getting back into the swing of things. Darcy was just a kid.

"If we're dealing with a Woman in White, Uncle John would have found the corpse and torched it,' Darcy said looking again at the victims posted on another wall.

"She may have another weakness," Sam replied. It was more to himself than to Darcy.

"Uncle John would have dug her up," Darcy said assuredly, "He would have wanted to make sure. Does it say where she's buried?"

"Not that I could tell," Sam stated as he scanned the article again, "but if I know Dad, he would have gone to the husband. Maybe he's still alive."

Sam looked at some of the other things that his father had displayed and found a picture. It was of Sam, Dean and their father.

"When Dean gets out we'll figure out our next move," Darcy said. She cleared off one of the chairs and sat in it, "I'm gonna rest up for a minute. I think Dean's got about five more minutes left before he's out."

"How do you figure that?" Sam asked.

""What song is he singing," she asked.

Sam was confused for a second, but he put his ear near the door. "It sounds like 'Back in Black,'" he answered.

"Yeah, he's got five minutes," she said, picking up a magazine.

As Darcy had predicted, Dean was out of the shower in five minutes. He was fully dressed and ready to eat.

"I'm gonna grab a bite at that diner down the street. You guys want to come?" Dean invited, but Darcy wasn't hungry, and Sam was checking his messages.

"See you when you get back," Darcy answered.

Less than a minute later, Darcy's phone was ringing. It was Dean. "Hello?"

"Dude 5-0. Take off!"

"What about you?" she asked, jumping out of the chair and heading for the window.

"They kinda spotted me. Get out of there."

Darcy hung up the phone and went to the window. "Dean's busted. We got to fly," she told Sam. She peeked out the window and saw a deputy coming to the door. She hurried to the window and made it out just before the deputy opened the door.

Darcy and Sam hid behind the room until it was clear. Luckily they hadn't taken the car, and Darcy had been vigilant enough to snag the keys. She went back and got the car. Sam was going through the back way, behind the motel, because the cops and the motel manager had both seen him.

Street near the Motel

Darcy pulled up to the street where Sam was waiting. She let him drop her off at a pay phone near the police station. Darcy had volunteered to break Dean out of the pokey while Sam went to talk to Mr. Welch.

Behind the police station

After making an anonymous phone call, Darcy walked to the back of the police station. It took Dean a little while, but finally, Darcy saw a figure climbing out of a top window.

"Fake police phone call?" he said to her when he finally got down, "that's pretty illegal. Even for you."

"What can I say?" Darcy retorted, "you're a bad influence."

Dean laughed. "I'll bet. Where's Sam?"

"Talking to Constance's husband," Darcy answered.

"Let's go," Dean said as he pulled his father's journal out.

"Is that…?"

"Yeah."

"Damn."

Back on the street

Dean had been on the phone filling in Sam when the line went dead.

"Sam? Sam!" Dean hung up his phone and turned to Darcy, "We got to get to Constance's old house. Sam is in trouble."

Constance's house

Dean and Darcy caught a cab and Darcy promised the guy double if he got there in five minutes. Dean was appalled by having to pay the guy that much but was impressed by the driving.

As the cab drove off, they heard the Impala pull up to the house. They ran to it and saw Constance's ghost taking advantage of Sam.

"That's just wrong," Darcy said.

Dean nodded. Darcy handed him a gun, and he started shooting at the ghost. It disappeared, and Dean went forward to check on Sam.

Sam shot up and started the car. "I'm taking you home."

Dean wasn't sure what he was doing. "Sam?" Dean's precious Impala ripped through the house. Dean and Darcy walked through the massive hole and went to check on Sam. Dean pulled him out of the car.

"Guys?" Darcy said from behind them. Dean turned to see Constance holding a picture. She threw it down and moved to the side, allowing a dresser to slam into him and Sam, pinning them to the car.

"Hey bitch," Darcy yelled, "that was uncalled for."

Dean would have reacted to that poor telling off of the ghost, but his leg was throbbing. The lights started flickering and shaking.

"Besides," Darcy continued, "I believe that they want to talk to their mommy."

Dean looked to where Darcy was pointing and saw two creeping looking ghost children at the top of the stairs. Water began spilling down from where they were standing. As Constance walked to the bottom of the stairs, Dean and Sam tried to push the dresser off their legs. Darcy rushed to help them. It started to budge a little. 

The children appeared next to Constance and hugged her. Within two seconds, she was nothing but a puddle.

With Constance gone, the dresser was easy to push off. Darcy and Sam went to the puddle to check it out, while Dean was more worried about his car.

"You found her weak spot. Good work Sam," Darcy said, giving Sam a small nudge. He smiled and turned to Dean.

"What were you thinking, shooting Casper in the face?"

"Saved your ass didn't it?" Dean answered. He was more worried about how they had gotten the gun. He was sure that Darcy hadn't had it when they were in the cab, and all of his weapons were in the trunk of the Impala.

"Oh, and Sammy," Dean continued, "pushing the thoughts out of his mind, "if you screwed up my car… I'll kill ya."

On the road

Sam was checking out the co-ordinance that his dad had left for Dean. He told Dean that it was a place called 'Blackwater Ridge, Colorado.' Both were keeping their voices down because Darcy had basically passed out in the back.

Sam knew that Dean really wanted him to go with them to Colorado, but he had to get to Stanford for his interview. He couldn't miss the opportunity.

Stanford

Dean pulled up in front of Sam's apartment.

"Call me if you find him?"

Dean nodded.

"Maybe I can meet up with all of you later," Sam offered. Dean knew it was an empty offer. Once Sam knew that their Dad was alive he would just say 'I told you so' and they wouldn't see him for another four years.

Sam started back toward the building. "Hey Sam," Dean said, "you know we made a hell of a team back there." He motioned to the sleeping Darcy.

"Yeah," Sam answered, "tell Darcy I said goodbye, would ya."

Dean nodded again and drove off.

After a few feet, he glanced back at Darcy, and jokingly tossed a pen at her. She jolted then glared at him. "That was…"

"Uncalled for," Dean said with a smirk. His expression changed when he saw a horrified look on Darcy's face. "What is it?" Dean asked.

The radio started spazzing, and Dean didn't wait for an answer. He was out of the car in a second.

"Jessica," Darcy said.

Stanford Parking Lot

Dean had told Darcy what happened while Sam was looking at weapons in the back of the car. Both walked over to him. Darcy put her hand on his back and gave him a sympathetic look.

Sam threw the gun he had just loaded into the trunk.

"We got work to do."


	4. Wendigo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy and the boys end up in a situation that's a little too familiar for one of them.

Just outside Grand Junction

Dean, Sam, and Darcy had dug around for a week after Jessica died. Sam had hoped to find something, anything about the demon but Dean and Darcy knew it was a lost cause. Dean had decided to let hit try anyway. It was something he had to do.

Now they were on the road, heading to Blackwater Ridge, Colorado. It was where the co-ordinance that their father had left for them. Dean had convinced Sam that if there was ever any way of finding Jessica's killer, it would be by finding their father. Their father disappearing, this thing showing up again after over twenty years. It was no coincidence. Dean was sure that his dad would have the answers.

Dean was driving, Darcy was navigating, and Sam was finally getting some sleep. Dean had been concerned about Sam's restless lack of sleep and the nightmares that Sam wouldn't talk about.

Sam shot up quickly and gasped. Darcy and Dean were looking at him. He rubbed his eyes and tried to focus and wake up completely.

"You okay?" Darcy asked.

"Yeah," Sam answered, "I'm fine." He tried not to let his voice shake. He was sure that Dean wasn't buying that he was 'fine.'

"Another nightmare?" Dean asked, not taking his eyes off the road.

Sam cleared his throat, making it obvious that this was not a topic he wanted to discuss.

Dean seemed to get the hint. "Want to drive for a while?" he asked.

Sam was shocked by the invitation. He glanced at Darcy who had gone back to the map. She was looking at Dean with the same disbelief that Sam was feeling. He couldn't be serious. Sam looked back at Dean again and saw that his invitation was sincere.

Sam knew that Dean was worried about him but he assured him that he was okay.

"Uh huh," Darcy said from the back.

"Alright," Sam asked, "Where are we?"

"We are just outside of Grand Junction," Darcy answered. She handed him the map so he could see.

"These co-ordinances Dad left us," Sam speculated, looking over the area marked, "There is nothing there. Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"

Neither Dean nor Darcy had that answer.

Ranger Station

Darcy and Sam were looking at a large three-dimensional map in the middle of the Ranger's office. Darcy was stating everything that she could find about Blackwater Ridge.

"…abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place," she finished.

"Dude check out the size of this freakin' bear," Dean said.

Darcy looked up at him. He hadn't been listening to a single word. She rolled her eyes and went to look at what bear he was talking about. When she saw the picture she was a bit surprised at the size. It was huge.

"There are a dozen or more grizzlies in the area," Sam explained, "It's no nature hike. That's for sure."

Darcy as a little impressed. Sam had done his homework too.

"You kids aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge, are you?"

Darcy turned and saw the ranger standing there with a cup of coffee.

Sam made a quick lie about being Environmental Studies majors which prompted the ranger to look at Darcy.

"I'm a freshman," she lied, "recycle."

Dean raised a fist to represent. Darcy smiled to cover that she was going to laugh.

The ranger hadn't bought it. "You're friends of that Hailey girl and her brother."

Dean looked at Darcy and shrugged, "Yes, yes we are."

It turned out that some girl had been annoying the rangers with stories that something happened to her older brother. She 'felt' something was wrong even though her brother and his friends weren't supposed to return for quite a few days. Darcy could sympathize with the girl. If she thought something happened to Frankie nothing would have stopped her from making sure he was okay.

She didn't say a word. Dean glanced at Darcy occasionally. He couldn't ignore the connections between this family and Darcy's. It was part of what attracted to find out more. Also, this Hailey girl sounded like a real pistol.

Outside the Ranger Station.

Darcy rolled her eyes. She reached the before the boys. They were bickering over the fact that Dean wanted to talk to this Hailey girl. Sam wanted to go straight to the co-ordinance. He was not acting like the Sam that Dean and Uncle John had told her about.

Granted Dean often chose the wrong times to pick up a date but this time he had made an okay argument. Something bad may have happened to someone at Blackwater Ridge. They had to check it out before they went their blind.

Outside/ Inside Hailey's House

Darcy, Sam, and Dean were talking to Hailey and her little brother. Dean had convinced her that he and Sam were rangers and that they were training Darcy. Sam was sitting at the dining table watching the last videos and pictures that Tommy had sent. Darcy was hanging back in the corner.

Dean told Hailey that they were heading to Blackwater Ridge in the morning.

"Maybe I'll see you there," Hailey replied.

Dean looked at her questioningly.

"I can't sit around here anymore. So I hired a guide and I'm going to find Tommy myself."

"I think I know how you feel," Darcy said. Dean looked at her. She glanced at him but looked away quickly.

"Do you think you could forward this to me?" Sam asked, breaking the half second of awkwardness that was about to take over the room.

Bar

Darcy chilled out by the pool tables while Dean and Sam were talking. She had helped Sam do some of the research and knew most of the information. Now while Dean was getting filled in, Darcy decided to scrape them up some extra cash for supplies.

She had a fairly large stack when Dean came over and said it was time to go.

"Oh come on," she argued, "I'm on a roll here."

"Yeah and we have to go talk to someone," Dean replied in a somewhat dad voice, "and before you even suggest it. Not going to happen. Come on."

"But Dean."

Dean turned and with a stern face raised an eyebrow.

"Yes sir," Darcy said. She grabbed her jacket and followed Dean out of the bar.

Motel

"Spirits and Demons don't have to unlock doors if they want in," Darcy stated.

"Usually they just walk through the wall," Dean continued.

"So," Sam speculated, "It's probably something else. Something corporeal."

Dean had filled Darcy in on what he and Sam had learned. Now they were discussing theories of what they might be hunting.

"Corporeal?" Dean mused, "well excuse me, professor."

"Shut up," Darcy and Sam said simultaneously. They both looked at each other for a second.

"So what do we think?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Dean stated, "I mean the claws. The speed that it moves…"

"Could be a Skin-walker," Darcy suggested, "or a blackdog."

"Whatever it is," Dean interjected, "it's corporeal which means we can kill it."

"Right," Darcy agreed, "I packed up some gear I thought we might need. Food, supplies, stuff like that."

Sam looked at what she had packed.

"I used to be a Girl Scout," Darcy explained, "Always be prepared."

"Well no offense to you or Juliette Gordon Low but we're packing light," Dean stated. He dumped out one of the packs and headed out the door.

Sam turned to Darcy. "Who?"

"Juliette Gordon Low started the Girl Scouts," Darcy explained.

"The fact that Dean knows that is highly disturbing,"

"He got laid up with a broken leg last fall," Darcy explained, "Jeopardy. Price is Right, All My Children."

Sam laughed a little and so did Darcy.

The Woods Around Blackwater Ridge

Sam was not happy that Dean had opted not to scare Hailey off of her brother's rescue. All he wanted to do was find Dad. Nothing else mattered to him. Dean was a little surprised that he was the insightful one for a change. There was no way that this chick was going to be swayed when she knew her brother was in trouble.

Dean pulled up to Hailey's hiking party just in time. It looked like they were just about to head out. Hailey, her brother and some guy that Dean guessed was their guide all had packs and gear. They looked like real hikers.

"Get the pack, Darc," he said. Then he addressed Hailey's group. "Got room for three more?"

Hailey looked skeptical. She introduced them to Roy. Roy also seemed skeptical.

"You're Rangers," he asked.

"That's right," Dean answered.

"I'm in training," Darcy added.

"And you're heading out in biker boots and jeans," Hailey asked.

Dean could feel the 'I told you so' look coming from Darcy. He ignored her and addressed Hailey. "Oh sweetheart, I don't do shorts."

Roy didn't appreciate Dean's sense of humor.

"It's dangerous out there," he said to Dean, "her brother could be hurt."

Dean smirked. He knew how dangerous it really was out there.

"We just want to help them find their brother. That's all," Darcy said sincerely.

Later in the same woods

The group had been hiking along for a while. None of them were much for conversation but Dean was having fun getting a rise out of Roy. After he made yet another sarcastic remark, Roy grabbed him violently by the shoulder. Everyone stopped and looked at Dean and Roy.

Darcy wondered what Roy was planning on doing. She gripped the strap of the weapons bag, which she had slung over her shoulder. Roy pointed out the bear trap that Dean would have stepped in. Darcy jumped a little as it snapped together. She frowned and looked at Dean. 'What if he had stepped in that?' she thought, 'He has to get focused.' But no. He was Dean. 

Darcy rolled her eyes as her cousin tried to play it cool. She could hear the slight tremble in his voice though. He was a lot more careful where he stepped as well. Everyone was a little more careful where they stepped after that demonstration.

As they got to a slight clearing, Hailey passed Darcy and started talking to Dean.

"You didn't pack any provisions. You guys are carrying a duffle bag," she stated her observations, "you're not rangers. Who the hell are you?"

Roy was in front of them. Sam was following Roy close behind. Ben passed the scene without looking at them. He had his earphones on and probably couldn't hear what his sister was saying. He doesn't care who we are, Darcy realized, He just wants to find his brother. Darcy was the only one behind them. She gave Dean a questioning look as if to say 'should I just keep going?' Dean nodded and Darcy kept moving behind Ben. A part of her wondered what Dean was saying to her.

Dean had been more honest with Hailey than he had ever been with a woman, at least to his recollection. He had told her that Sam and Darcy were his family and that they were all in search of his father. She had seemed cool with his explanation.

He was pretty pleased with himself as he munched on the peanut M&Ms he had stuffed into his jacket that morning.

35, -111 Blackwater Ridge

Sam was not pleased when the group reached the co-ordinance 35, -111. There was nothing there. Oddly enough, there was an eerie silence about the area. Not a bug or cricket was chirping, there were no birds and they hadn't seen an animal in a while.

Dean and Darcy came up to either side of him and mentioned the stillness of everything.

Roy wanted to go scouting. Sam still had a big problem with babysitting these noobs who knew nothing about the dangers now surrounding them. He wasn't about to just let one of them go off to get killed.

He hadn't convinced Roy to stay close but on Dean's suggestion the rest of the group didn't stray off from each other.

"Hailey," Roy's voice boomed through the silence of the woods.

Hailey bolted in the direction to the voice. Dean and Ben were not far behind, the Sam and Darcy.

All of them were shocked for a moment. Before them, was the wreckage that had once been a campsite. It looked like something had attacked. Roy speculated a grizzly but Dean knew better. Not even the grizzly from the ranger's picture could have done this damage.

Hailey started yelling but Sam was quick to stop her. He and Darcy were obviously thinking the same thing Dean was. Whatever did this was still out there.

Dean left Darcy and Sam to keep the civilians close in. When he came back he signaled Darcy and Sam over to him and told them what he found. Bodies had been dragged a few feet out then the tracks disappeared.

"That's weird," Darcy stated.

Dean nodded, "I'll tell you what. It's no skinwalker or blackdog." They were back at square one and by having no idea what they were hunting they faced a really big issue.

Dean thought through his options and saw Hailey off to the side. She looked very distraught. Dean started to go over to her but Darcy grabbed his arm lightly and shook her head.

"Hey, he could still be alive," she said sincerely. Dean was standing a few feet behind her and wasn't sure what her face looked like but he could see Hailey's. Hailey's eyes glimmered with hope, almost as if she could sense that Darcy had been in this same situation. Dean hoped that the story ended better this time.

A cry for help echoed through the trees. Everyone ran toward it as fast as they could. Dean cocked his gun. Roy had his rifle. Darcy had opted for her slingshot. It was her one of her favorite weapons.

All of them had gotten pretty far away from camp before they realized there was no one around. Sam ordered everyone back to camp.

When the group got back to the campsite they quickly realized that all the packs were now gone. The thing that had gotten Tommy and his friends were smart. It wanted to cut them off from civilization.

Sam walked over to Dean. "I need to talk to you," he said, "in private."

Darcy stayed back with the civilians while Dean and Sam walked just out of sight and earshot. Darcy was sure she now knew what they were hunting or more appropriately, what was now hunting them.

She addressed Roy, Hailey, and Ben. "Listen up. It's time to go," she said, "things have gotten… more complicated."

"Kid, don't worry," Roy said with a rifle in his hand, "whatever is out there, I can handle it."

"It's not me I'm worried about," Darcy told him.

"If you shoot this thing," Sam said, returning from the woods with Dean, "you're just going to make it angry. We have to leave, now."

Darcy looked at Dean who rolled his eyes as Roy told them that they were crazy and not in charge.

"Relax," Dean ordered.

"We never should have let you come out here in the first place," Sam said. Darcy could tell he was holding back his anger, "We're trying to protect you."

Roy got into Sam's face assuring him that he was a skilled hunter and as the last straw mentioned their mother.

"It's a damn near perfect hunter," Sam said slowly, "smarter than you and it's going to hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid sorry ass out of here."

Roy laughed in Sam's face. Darcy didn't like this situation. She and Dean had to hold Sam and Roy back from each other before Sam said something stupid. Dean shoved Sam away from Roy and told him to cool it. Darcy had taken Roy on. The young teen pushed the old hunter back a few feet and warned him to back off.

Hailey started yelling louder than anyone. She reminded everyone why they were there and assured them that she was going nowhere until she found her brother.

Dean took control of the situation and told everyone to bunk down before it got dark because the 'thing' was a better hunter at night than in the day. They had to protect themselves.

Later

Darcy and Dean were drawing Anasazi symbols into the dirt around the campsite. Darcy walked over to Dean.

"Dean," she said, "I got this. Go talk to your brother alright."

"Yeah, I don't like where his head is at right now."

"He's angry and still grieving," Darcy said, "he had hoped Uncle John was here and now he has nothing."

"To tell you the truth I don't think Dad was ever here," Dean sighed. He walked over to talk to Sam.

Hailey asked Darcy about the symbols as she kept drawing. She explained. Roy was vocally skeptical about 'Wendigos' or any other monster in the woods.

Sam and Dean were having a heart to heart about how Dean, their father, and Darcy could live the life.

"I'll tell you what else helps," Dean finished, "killing as many evil sons of bitches as possible."

"Hell yeah," Darcy said. She sat down next to Dean, "I finished up with the symbols and I think we're pretty much set for tonight. What's the plan…?"

A scream interrupted Darcy. It was the Wendigo trying to draw them out.

"Just stay cool, stay put," Dean said.

"Inside the magic circle?" Roy retorted. Dean turned to him as if he was going to say something. Another cry for help followed by the sound of a monster rumbled through the trees. The noise came from all around them.

"Okay," Roy said, "pointing his rifle, "that's no grizzly."

"Glad that finally got through, Roy," Darcy said in a low tone. She had her slingshot cocked and had moved back to the center with Hailey and her brother.

"It's okay," Hailey said, "you'll be alright. I promise."

Darcy glanced at the sibling and thought of her brother. She shook the thought out of her mind. It wasn't a time to get distracted.

Roy shot into the brush as the creature moved around. It yowled in pain. Roy chased the creature into the woods. Dean and Sam were not far behind trying to stop him. His gun had done nothing except upset the thing.

"Stay put," Dean ordered before disappearing.

Darcy turned to Hailey and Ben. "It will be alright."

Next Morning

Sam was leaned up against a tree trunk keeping watch. He had his dad's journal in his lap. None of them had seen Roy since last night and though no one said anything. They all knew what had happened.

Dean came back from checking on him and began looking around.

"These types of things aren't supposed to be real," Hailey stated.

"I wish I could tell you different," Dean replied

"How do we know it's not out there watching us?" she asked.

Darcy looked up. "We don't," she answered.

Dean glanced at Darcy then back to Hailey. "But we're safe for now," he finished.

"How do you know about this stuff?" Hailey asked.

"It kind of runs in the family," he answered honestly.

Dean walked over to where Darcy was sitting. "How are you holding up?" he asked.

"I'm good," she answered. Dean could tell she wasn't saying something. She had been kind of quiet on this trip.

"It's just I can't help but notice the similarities between this situation and… you know," he said sitting next to her.

Darcy wouldn't look at him. "Yeah noticed that too," she said.

"Listen if you need to talk or…" Dean started.

Darcy looked taken aback. "I'll be fine Dean," she said, "You know me. The hunt comes first." She laughed a little.

Dean knew that Darcy's brother was weighing heavily on her mind. There was no way that it couldn't. Felix and Darcy had been on a family camping trip when the kenaima attacked and killed him. She had told Dean a few times that she felt powerless not being able to save him. It was one of the reasons Darcy liked hunting. It gave her back her power. She wanted to save others the way she hadn't saved her family.

Sam came walking into the cam. "We got half a chance in the daylight," he stated, "and I for one, want to kill this evil son of a bitch,"

"Hell, you know I'm in," Darcy replied standing up.

Dean nodded, "me too."

Into the Woods

The group walked through the woods following markings left by the Wendigo.

Darcy had pulled ahead only a little and made it to a clearing. She looked up.

"Boys?" she called. Dean and Sam stood next to her and looked up as well.

There were the same distinct claw marks on the trees. They seemed to realize what she had just figured out herself. "I was thinking," she said in a hushed tone so that Hailey and Ben couldn't hear, "those claw marks were so clear and distinct."

They looked at her then each other

.

"They were almost too easy to follow," Sam said.

The sound of the Wendigo began surrounding them again. A moment later, Roy fell out of a tree and almost landed on Hailey. He was dead. The next time they heard the Wendigo Dean ordered them to run. Darcy was just in front of Sam. She heard a rustling and stopped. She turned to see Sam helping Ben up. She waited for them to catch up and all kept moving. A scream pierced the trees. It was Hailey. Sam, Ben, and Darcy ran toward the sound but when they go there Dean and Hailey were gone.

Mineshaft

Darcy had found a trail of M&M's that Sam was sure Dean had left behind. They lead to an old mineshaft. Sam led the way in. He heard a growl and pushed Darcy and Ben into the wall. Ben was about to make a sound and both Sam and Darcy covered his mouth. After it was gone they made their way deeper into the tunnel. The floor beneath them gave way and all three fell into a cavern.

Dusting himself off Sam looked around and saw Hailey and Dean hanging by their arms. Darcy must have seen them too.

"Dean," she said in a hushed yell.

Sam cut Hailey down and had Ben help her down and untie her. Then he cut Dean down and handed him to Darcy so they both could get him untied. Sam let Darcy finish with Dean while he went over to help Hailey and Ben with their brother. He was alive.

"Check it out," Darcy said holding flare guns in her hands.

"Those will work," Sam replied smiling. Dean smirked too.

Ranger's Station

Ben and Sam were talking to the police, and Dean was talking to Hailey. The Wendigo was dead. The hunters had tricked it and Dean shot it with his flare gun. Everyone made it out of the woods. They were a little scratched up but they were safe.

Darcy was listening to the EMTs that were loading Tommy into the ambulance. One of them looked at her. "Who is coming with him, ma'am?"

"His brother and sister are over there," she answered.

Darcy leaned up against the car next to Sam and watched the family ride off in the ambulance. She was happy that this was over and that everyone was alive. "I really hate camping," she said.

"Me too," the brothers replied.

Dean turned to Sam, "You know we're gonna find dad right?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded, "but in the meantime… I'm driving."

Dean nodded and tossed him the keys as Darcy climbed in.


	5. Dead in the Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy's abilities point her to a drowning that is a little fishy.

Gynnwood Inn

Darcy was at the counter sifting through obits. She had gotten up before the boys and left a note for them to meet her in the diner next to the hotel. Dean came and sat in the seat next to her.

"Can I get you anything?" the waitress asked him. She was hot, blonde and barely wearing a top and short shorts. Darcy rolled her eyes at Dean.

Sam took the seat next to Dean. "Just her check please," he said indicating Darcy.

Wendy the waitress nodded and gave Dean one last smile before going to the back.

"You know Sam," he said in a hushed tone, "we are allowed to have fun every once in a while. That's fun." He looked at Wendy the waitress.

"No 'that' is engaged," Darcy replied, "Wendy is getting married in two months and she and her son are moving to Ohio. She just flirts to get a bigger tip. You should spend less time staring at her chest and more time looking at her hand. You would have seen the rock."

Dean turned to Darcy, "do you have any other information for us?"

Darcy tossed him a paper. "Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week, Sophie Carlton 18. She goes into the lake and doesn't come out. Authorities dragged the water and nothing. Sophie is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found either."

Dean looked at the obit. "It says that there was a funeral two days ago."

"A funeral?" Sam repeated.

"Yeah," Darcy answered, "They buried an empty coffin for closure or whatever."

"Closure?' Sam repeated again, "What closure? People don't just disappear. Other people just stop looking at them." Sam glanced at Dean.

"Something you want to say to me?" Dean replied defensively.

"The trail for dad is getting colder every day."

"Exactly," Dean replied, "So what are we suppose to do?"

"I don't know," Sam answered, "Something. Anything."

Wendy came back with the check and Darcy paid it out while Dean and Sam were squabbling.

"So how far is it to Lake Manitoc?" Darcy asked interrupting their fight.

Lake Manitoc

Darcy had let Dean and Sam talk to the family while she looked out around the lake. She saw an older man staring out at the lake from his deck. He looked so sad. She looked out on the lake. How could a place so beautiful be holding something so horrible?

Sheriff's Office

Sam had come up with the cover that they were from the Wildlife Services before they went into the Sheriff's office. They were invited in to talk to the sheriff in his office. Dean and Sam sat in the chairs while Darcy leaned against the back wall. The Sheriff was still working under the assumption that the deaths were all accidental. He assured them that nothing was in the lake and informed them that the lake was going to be gone soon.

A girl came in. The sheriff introduced her as Andrea Barr, his daughter. A little Boy peaked out from behind her. He looked at Dean, Sam, and Darcy then walked into the lobby. The sheriff said his name was Lucas and when Sam asked if he was okay, the sheriff just replied, "He's been through a lot. We all have."

Dean asked Andrea to escort them to the nearest hotel even though it was only two blocks away. Darcy and Sam shared a look over Dean's lame flirting tactics. They still weren't close but that was one thing they always agreed on. Andrea said goodbye to her son and her father and lead them outside and around the corner to the motel.

The entire time Dean had been making comments about how much he liked kids. It wasn't long before they saw the sign saying 'Lakefront Motel'

"Here it is," Andrea said, "It must be hard with your sense of direction…never being able to find your way to a decent pick-up line."

Andrea walked away, "Enjoy your stay."

"I like her," Darcy said with a laugh.

"Kids are the best?" Sam said looking at Dean, "You don't even like kids."

"I love kids," Dean replied.

"Name three children that you even know," Darcy said.

Dean couldn't think of one. Sam and Darcy sighed and left him to wrack his brain.

In the Motel Room

Sam was researching deaths on Lake Manitoc while Dean was unpacking. Sam stated that over the past thirty-five years there had been nine deaths including the three this year. All of them were similar in the fact that the bodies were never found. Dean asked if 'Lake Monster' was still the theory. Sam didn't think so. It didn't fit the MO of any lake monsters they had heard of.

Looking further into the missing people they discovered that Lucas's father had drowned in May and Lucas had been there. He was a witness.

"No wonder that kid was so freaked out, "Dean said solemnly, 

Darcy agreed, "losing a parent isn't something you just get over."

The Park

Darcy was told to meet up with the boys at the park. She had been getting lunch for them when they called and filled her in. She watched Lucas sitting alone coloring. He reminded her of Will. Her little brother had been Lucas's age when their mother died.

Darcy felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Dean. Sam walked over to Andrea who was sitting on a park bench. Dean and Darcy followed.

"Can we join you?" Sam asked her.

"I'm here with my son," she said with a smile.

Dean went over to talk with Lucas which Andrea took to be another flirt tactic on his part. Sam shook his head. "I don't think it's about that."

Darcy saw it too. Dean was like a big kid himself some times and he did have a connection to this kid. She hoped he could get through to him.

"Lucas hasn't said a word," Andrea was telling Sam, "Not since his dad's accident."

"Yeah, we heard," Darcy replied, "Sorry."

"What are the doctors saying?" Sam asked.

The doctors had related it to post-traumatic stress. It couldn't have been easy for them. Andrea and Lucas had even moved in with her father so that he could help.

"Kids are strong," Dean replied walking up to them, "you'd be surprised what he could deal with."

Darcy nodded. Dean spoke from experience. He not only had to overcome a lot from his mother's death. He had helped Darcy cope as well. Andrea was talking about how lively Lucas used to be and how he was now when Lucas walked up to Dean. He gave him a drawing of a house.

"Thanks, Lucas," Dean said.

Lucas walked back to his place. No one knew what to say about that. Andrea was stunned.

Motel

Dean and Darcy were in the room eating burgers and going over theories over what could be responsible for the killings and talking about the picture Lucas drew.

"So I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie," Sam said walking in.

"What do you mean?" Darcy asked.

Sam went on to explain that Will Carlton, Sophie's brother had drowned in the sink. That meant they were dealing with something else. Dean speculated that it could be a water demon or something else that controls water. Darcy was pacing. She turned around.

"Water from the same source," she realized.

"The lake," Sam said standing up.

"Yeah."

"That's why it's upping the body count. The lake is draining. It'll be dry in a few months. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants it's running out of time."

Dean who had been watching this exchange. "And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, almost anywhere. This is going to happen again. Soon."

"And we know one thing," Sam said, "It definitely has something to do with Bill Carlton."

Darcy nodded, "It took both his kids."

Sam said that he had asked around and Lucas's dad happened to be Bill's godson. They decided to go visit The Carlton place again.

The Carlton place

When they returned to talk to Bill Carlton he was beyond grief. His voice was heartbreaking. Darcy knew that she was looking at a broken man. He had lost both of his kids. There was nothing they could learn from him.

As Darcy, Sam, and Dean walked back to the car, Dean looked up and noticed a small house. It was identical to the house Lucas had drawn him.

Andrea's house

Lucas sat drawing in his room. Dean had convinced Andrea to let them talk. He knelt down next to Lucas and looked at some of the pictures he had drawn. There was the same red bike over and over again.

"I wanted to thank you for that last drawing," he said, "But the thing is… I need your help again."

Lucas didn't say anything or stop drawing. Dean sighed and unfolded the picture Lucas had given him.

"How did you know to draw this?" Dean asked, placing the drawing in front of Lucas, "Did you know something bad was going to happen? Maybe you could nod yes or no. You're scared. It's okay. I understand."

Darcy and Sam were listening in the doorway with Andrea. Lucas still hadn't responded.

"When I was a kid, I saw something bad happen to my mom and I was scared too," Dean continued, "I didn't feel like talking, just like you. But, see, my mom, I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day and I do my best to be brave."

Dean glanced back at Darcy. He saw a tear fall down her face which she brushed away quickly. He turned back to Lucas.

"I bet your dad," Dean finished, "he'd want you to be brave too."

Lucas dropped his crayon and looked at his mother. He handed Dean another picture.

"Thanks, Lucas."

On the road

Dean and Sam were talking about post-traumatic psychic tendencies. Sam thought that whatever Lucas saw connected him to this thing. Darcy had to agree. She was still looking at the picture Lucas had given Dean.

"We got to find this house," Darcy chimed in.

Dean agreed but made the point that there were a lot of houses that looked like the one in the picture.

"But that church," Sam speculated, "bet there's less than a thousand of those around."

"Oh college boy," Dean replied, "thinks he's so smart."

All three laughed a little. Sam stopped and looked at Dean. "That stuff you said about Mom," he said, "you never told me that."

Darcy had the feeling that Dean had never said that to anyone.

"It's no big deal," Dean said.

Sam looked at Dean.

Darcy looked at both of them. "You guys aren't going to hug or anything, are you?"

The Yellow House

Dean and Sam waited outside while Darcy talked to old Mrs. Sweeney. She liked doing all that information gathering stuff and old people seemed to like her.

About twenty minutes later Darcy came out of the house. She filled both of them in on Peter Sweeney. He used to be friends with Bill Carlton and now all of Bill Carlton's loved ones are getting punished. The spirit wants revenge.

Dean pulled into the Carlton place.

Carlton place

They were looking around for Bill Carlton when Dean heard the sound of a motorboat. Everyone yelled for Mr. Carlton to turn the boat around and come back to shore but he ignored them. As he drove out into the middle of the ocean an explosion sent him and the boat flying.

Darcy jumped and grabbed Sam's arm.

"Come play with me."

Sheriff's Office

The boys had explained as clear as they could what had happened to Bill Carlton but the sheriff wasn't buying it or their cover. He threatened to arrest the lot of them unless they agreed to leave immediately. Darcy hadn't been paying attention until that last part. She had been thinking of something that had happened just before. Lucas had been at the station when they came in. He was very upset but Dean had calmed him down but Darcy could tell something was really troubling him.

On the Road

Dean was on the outer edge of town.

"Stop the car," Darcy said sitting up quickly from the back seat, "Dean we have to go back."

"I think this job is over," Sam argued, "Peter's ghost got its revenge."

"But what if you're wrong?" Darcy said back. She turned to Dean, "What if we've missed something. Things don't feel done here yet. More people are going to get hurt."

"Why would you think that?" Sam asked.

"Because Lucas was really scared," Dean answered, "I just don't want to leave until I know the kid is safe."

"Who are you," Sam asked Dean sarcastically, "and what have you done with my brother?"

"Shut up," Dean replied.

"We should go to Andrea's house," Darcy suggested.

Andrea's House

As Dean was about to ring the doorbell Lucas opened it. He was really panicked as he turned and ran. Dean heard a scream from upstairs. He ran Lucas with Darcy and Sam close behind him.

The three acted quickly when they got upstairs. Dean kicked the door open and held Lucas back while Darcy and Sam pulled Andrea out of the water. The ghost was strong. It pulled her back in. Darcy and Sam used all their strength to finally get Andrea out of the water and out of danger.

Later

Sam was talking with Andrea. He wanted to calm her down and figure out what exactly happened before they got there. Andrea told him that she thought she was going crazy and that she had heard a voice.

Dean had been sitting with Lucas and Darcy. They were looking at some of Lucas's drawings. Darcy saw one picture that had three boys in it. They were all dressed alike. One boy had a fishing pole, one boy had a star on his chest and the last one had a red bike next to him.

Darcy put the picture down and went to a collection of photo albums. She pulled out the one that said 'Jake at age 12.' She turned to a picture of three boy scouts in uniforms like the one that Lucas drew. One was Peter, and one was Bill Carlton. Darcy figured the last one was Jake who grew up to be the sheriff. She showed her finding to Andrea, Sam, and Dean. The latter figured the same thing she did. This had to do with the sheriff and Bill Carlton.

Lucas got up and walked out the door. Everyone followed him. He stood on a soft patch of dirt in a clearing. Dean asked Andrea to take Lucas back to the house while Darcy and Sam went to find shovels.

It wasn't long before they hit something. Sam pulled out Peter's red bike. Darcy heard a click behind her. It was the sheriff with a gun pointed at Sam.

Dean, Sam, and Darcy told him about Peter's spirit and that they knew that he and Bill Carlton had something to do with his death. It was coming back for revenge just like it did with Bill Carlton. Andrea ran up to her father and pleaded for him to put the gun down.

The sheriff thought they were insane. Dean ignored his contempt and asked where Peter's body was.

"Tell us you didn't just let him go in the lake," Dean said.

Even Andrea was convinced that this was true and asked her father to confirm it and answer them. The sheriff told them everything including the fact that he and Bill let the body drift into the lake. Sam, Dean, and Darcy all groaned silently. There was no body and no way to vanquish the spirit.

Darcy heard a faint voice and looked out toward the lake as Dean suggested that the entire family stay away from the lake. She saw Lucas near the edge.

Dean and Sam jumped into the lake from the dock. Andrea looked like she was going to go in as well but Darcy stopped her and held her back.

"You can't go in there," Darcy told her. The boys were searching frantically for Lucas and in all the chaos no one saw the sheriff wade out into the lake. He began pleading with the ghost as everyone else pleaded with him to go back. It was too late. Peter grabbed the sheriff and pulled him down into the lake. Dean dove down again and this time came up with Lucas in his arm. Darcy and Andrea pulled them up.

Parking lot

The three thought it would be a good idea to stay overnight and ensure that the ghost was gone. Dean had been down since the day before and Darcy knew why.

"We can't save everybody," Darcy told him comfortingly, "you and I both know that."

Dean nodded. Sam came over with the last of their things and it was about time to hit the road. Lucas and Andrea came running up. They were dealing with the sheriff's death very well. He was carrying a tray of sandwiches that he had made for Dean and the others.

"Can I give it to them now?" he asked his mother.

Dean helped him load the sandwiches into the car. Everyone said their goodbyes and Dean even got a kiss.

"Alright, Sam," Dean said, "move your ass. We're gonna run out of daylight before we hit the road."


	6. Phantom Traveler

Motel

Darcy was sound asleep on her air mattress in the corner of the motel room. She had finally gotten to sleep sometime late the night before when she could finally drown out Sam walking around. She figured he couldn't sleep partly because of what he had been through and mostly because Dean was a terrible snorer at times. Darcy had gotten used to it but Sam had been gone for a while.

She heard the door creak open but paid it little mind. Seconds later Sam and Dean started talking. It was too darn early. They started talking about the fact that Sam was having nightmares and how taxing the job was on a person. Dean played the hardened hunter.

"You can't bring it home like that," Dean said. Darcy smelled the aroma of coffee.

"So, what, all this, it never keeps you up at night?" Sam asked, "Never? You're never afraid?"

"No, not really," Dean replied.

"That oversized pig sticker under your pillow tells a different story," Darcy said rolling over. She figured she wasn't sleeping anymore.

Sam sighed and slid the knife out.

"That's not fear," Dean responded, "That is a precaution."

"Whatever," Sam said.

Darcy got up. "I'm too tired to argue," she shrugged.

Dean's phone started ringing.

Sam handed her a Dr. Pepper. "This should wake you up." Darcy looked from Sam to the bottle in her hand. "I know you don't drink coffee and you love Dr. P."

"Thanks, Sam," Darcy smiled, "I appreciate it."

"Jerry Panoski?" Dean repeated into the phone. He shrugged to Darcy and Sam, having no idea who was on the phone.

Darcy thought a minute. "Panoski? Poltergeist in Pennsylvania, three years back."

Dean took the cue and repeated the info into the phone. He hung up the phone. "Sounds like we have a job."

They all started gathering their things. Dean stood up. "Oh yeah," he said, "Jerry." He smiled being very proud of himself for remembering the case.

Airport Hangar

Jerry led the team through the hangar to his office. He spent the walk telling Sam how much his dad, Darcy, and Dean helped him out with a poltergeist in his house. Dean had a very pleased smile on his face at the praise.

Then Jerry changed the subject to Sam's college career and how proud his father was of him.

"He talked about you all the time," Jerry said.

"He did?" Sam asked. He was a little surprised.

Jerry asked how John was doing because he couldn't get a hold of him.

"He's, um…wrapped up in a job right now," Dean answered.

"We're missing the old man but we get Sam," Jerry replied, "fair trade."

Jerry's Office

Jerry had the three listen to a recording from a plane that crashed telling then that it was something right up their alley. When the recording was finished they agreed. There was a monstrous sound following the distress call and then silence.

Dean, Sam, and Darcy all looked at each other. Jerry recited all the information about the crash including survivors. He said that the pilot, one of the survivors, was his friend and he was taking the crash pretty hard.

Sam gave Jerry a list of things they would need to investigate. Dean said they had to see the wreckage.

Jerry agreed that he could get the things they needed but that the NTSB had the wreckage locked away in a warehouse.

Dean looked at Darcy.

"Not a problem," Darcy said smiling.

Outside the Copy Jack

Darcy was busy doing her thing inside the Copy Jack while Dean and Sam were working the rest of the angles. Sam was checking out the EVP on the recording while Dean called to check on some of the survivors.

"Thank you very much, ma'am," Dean hung up the phone. "What do you got?"

""There is definitely EVP on the cockpit recorder device," Sam said, "Listen."

"No survivors."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Dean asked, "There are seven survivors."

Sam and Dean discussed different theories on what the case could be. They figured now they had to talk to survivors. They decided to talk to Max Jaffe.

"He checked himself into a mental institution," Sam stated, "We have to get in there to talk to him."

Darcy walked up to the car.

"And now you have a way to do that," she said with a satisfied smile.

"You've been in there forever," Dean said.

"Can't rush perfection," she stated handing him two IDs.

"Homeland Security?" Sam asked, "That's pretty illegal."

"Yeah, well, it's something new," Dean said, "People haven't seen it a thousand times. Okay Darc, hop in and let's go."

"I'll stick around here," she said, "I got some stuff to take care of and government agents don't tend to drive around with teenage girls in their back seat."

"Suit yourself," Dean said, "we'll call when we roll in. Call Jerry if you have any trouble."

In town

Darcy was running errands when the phone rang. Dean was calling to bring her up to speed. They were going to talk to the widow of a passenger that apparently had black eyes and was able to open the emergency exit in mid-flight.

"Man, I don't care how strong you are," Darcy said into the phone, "that is impossible."

"Yeah," Dean agreed, "even doped up on PCP or something."

"Not if you're human," she heard Sam say.

"There's a short list for black eyes. Does Sam think this guy was something else?" she asked plugging her other ear so she could hear what both of them were saying.

"Some kind of creature, maybe?" Sam suggested.

"That look like a creature's lair to you?" Dean asked him, "Darcy we got to go. Just wanted to give you the heads up."

"Thanks, Dean," she said.

"What are you doing over there anyway?" he asked.

"You'll see when you get back," she said and she hung up.

Later

"That doesn't make any sense," Darcy said after the boys told her about the widow.

"Yeah, a middle-aged dentist with acid reflux is not exactly evil personified," Dean agreed, "What we need to do is get inside and check out the wreckage."

"Okay but if we're going to go that route," Sam said, "we better look the part."

"Way ahead of you boys," Darcy said smiling.

They looked at her questioningly.

Outside Mort's for style

Darcy was leaning up against the car waiting.

"Well if it isn't the Blues Brothers," she teased as they walked out.

"I think Dean looks more like a seventh grader at his first dance," Sam said.

They both laughed knowing how much Dean hated suits.

"I hope I got the sizes right," Darcy said, "I took my best guess on Sam."

"Perfect fit," Sam said doing a little spin.

"I hate this," Dean said indicating the suit.

"Do you want in the warehouse or not?" Darcy said to him.

Dean looked at her, then Sam, who gave him a nod, before sighing defeatedly and getting in the car.

Airport parking lot

Darcy waited patiently in the car looking over Uncle John's book while the boys pretended to be Homeland Security and checked out the wreckage. After five minutes with no alarms, Darcy knew they had gotten through. She didn't doubt they would with the IDs she made.

Not long after the boys went in three black unmarked vans pulled in front of the warehouse.

"Uh'oh," Darcy said grabbing her cell phone.

Inside the warehouse

"What is this stuff?" Dean asked about the stuff on the plane door handle.

Sam inspected it. "Only one way to find out."

Dean's phone rang as Sam scraped some of the substance off of the handle.

"Hello," Dean answered.

"You better go out the back way," she warned, "the real deal just pulled up. I'll swing around to get you."

Jerry's Office

Jerry had let them use his stuff to examine the substance the boys had found.

"This stuff is covered in sulfur," Jerry told them.

He left them alone in the office to talk while he went to yell at an employee.

"You know there's not many things that leave behind a sulfuric residue," Darcy said looking at the screen.

"Demonic possession?" Sam suggested.

"That would explain how a mortal man would have the strength to open an emergency hatch," Darcy agreed.

Sam signed, "If the guy was possessed it's possible."

"Yeah but this goes way beyond floating over a bed and barfing pea soup," Dean chimed in, "I mean it's one thing to possess a person but use him to take down an entire airplane?"

"Have you ever heard of something like this before?" Sam asked.

Darcy looked to Dean

"Never," Dean said. Darcy shook her head. It wasn't lying exactly. She had never heard of a possession that was meant to crash a plane.

The Motel

Darcy, Sam, and Dean were researching demons and demonic possession. There was quite a bit of lore on the subject but the most relevant bit came from the Japanese. Sam read off what he had found out about them. Apparently, there was a demon for any kind of disaster and this one causes plane crashes.

Dean signed.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"This isn't our usual gig," Dean answered, "I mean, demons, they don't want anything just death and destruction for its own sake."

"From what we know, Dean," Darcy replied.

"This is big," Dean said, "and I wish Dad was here."

"Yeah," Sam agreed, "me too."

Darcy looked down. A part of her had thought the same thing.

Dean's phone rang. It obviously wasn't good news. "Jerry, I'm sorry what happened?… Where'd this happen?... I'll try to ignore the irony in that… Nothing. Jerry, hang in there, all right? We'll catch up with you soon."

Dean hung up the phone. Darcy looked up at him unhappily. "Another crash?" she asked.

"Yeah," Dean answered, "let's go." Any doubts he had about staying on the job vanished. He was back in it.

"Where?" Sam asked.

Dean answered, "Nazareth."

Jerry's Office

The boys found the same sulfur residue on Chuck's plane that had been on the previous plane. Everyone started bouncing theories around about what was going on.

"What are the constants in both crashes?" Darcy asked.

Dean figured since Chuck Lambert was involved in both that demon wanted to get him and now there was no problem.

Sam stated that both planes went down at exactly the same time, forty minutes into the flight.

Jerry was confused about the significance of that so Dean explained the theory of biblical numerology. Forty equals death.

Sam also told everyone that he had found six other crashes with the same M.O. over the last ten years. All without survivors until this last one.

On the road

Sam and Darcy were calling the survivors while Dean drove. The flight attendant was the only one intended to be airborne any time soon. They couldn't reach her because her cell phone was off. They would have to book it if they wanted to stop her flight.

Airport

Dean, Sam, and Darcy ran into the airport and found the flight that Amanda was going to be on.

"We still have a few cards to play," Dean said. He and Sam rushed to the phones.

Dean used the courtesy phone to get a hold of Amanda at her gate. He told Amanda that he was a doctor and her sister was in the hospital. Sam looked to Dean's face to see if it was working. Obviously, it wasn't.

"You what?" Dean asked turning away from Sam's goofy face. He started sputtering then shrugged. "Guilty as charged."

Sam strained to hear what Amanda. "He's really sorry." Dean looked at Sam, shrugged and continued, "Yeah, but he really needs to see you tonight. So-…Don't be like that. I mean, come on. The guy's a mess… No, no wait. Amanda. Amanda!"

Dean hung up the phone. "Damn it," he said as he started pacing, "that was so close."

Darcy walked back to where they were, "Alright, it's time for plan B."

"Where have you been?" Sam asked.

"I had to get these," she said holding up three tickets, "We're getting on that plane."

She handed Sam his ticket. "When did you get these?"

"Do you think I ever rely on Dean and the first plan?" she asked.

Sam nodded and laughed a little, "We're getting on that plane."

"Well, now just hold on a second," Dean said.

"Dean, that plane is leaving with over a hundred passengers on board," Sam told him before getting a little quieter, "and if we're right that plane is going to crash."

"I know," Dean answered.

"Well, okay," Darcy said, "then we're getting on the plane, we need to find that demon and exorcise it."

"We just need to grab whatever we can get out of the car," Sam said, "whatever would make it through security. Meet me back here in five minutes."

Sam started off. Dean looked dejected, watching him leave.

"Are you okay?" Darcy asked him.

Dean kind of shrugged, "No. Not really."

"What?" Darcy frowned, "What's wrong?"

"I kind of have a problem with a…"

"Flying?"

"It's never really been an issue until now," he said with panic in his voice.

"You're joking," Darcy said.

"Do I look like I am joking!" he said urgently, "Why do you think we drive everywhere."

Darcy could tell that this was really getting to Dean. "All right. We'll go without you."

"What?" Dean seemed to like this plan even less.

"Sam and I can handle this."

"Are you nuts," he said, "you just said the plane is going to crash."

"Dean you can come with us or Sam and I can go without you," she said, "I'm not seeing a third option."

On the plane

Dean wasn't happy but he finally gave in and all three made the flight. Sam asked Darcy why Dean was acting so weird and Darcy was able to whisper to him what had happened.

When they found their seats Darcy got the window, Sam sat in the middle and Dean was sitting in the aisle seat. The second he was seated he started studying the safety procedures. Sam and Darcy looked at each other.

Sam tried to hide his amusement. "Just try to relax."

"Just try to shut up." Dean tightened his seatbelt. It was as though every movement or sound the plane made freaked him out even more.

Later

Darcy was looking over Uncle John's journal again.

"Are you humming Metalica?" Sam asked Dean.

Dean kept humming. "Calms him down," she said. Darcy felt bad that Dean was so scared but it was a little amusing to find a chink in his armor… oh no. When we get focused on the job he will be fine.

"I get you're nervous, all right?" Sam whispered to Dean, "but you got to stay focused."

Sam was pulling Dean back into the game. He went over the numbers with both Dean and Darcy. "We have 32 minutes and counting to track this thing down or whoever it's possessing anyway, and perform a full-on exorcism."

"Yeah on a crowded plane," Dean retorted.

"That's going to be easy," Darcy said. She started feeling like Dean looked.

"We just need to take this one step at a time, all right?" Sam said, "Now, who is it possessing?"

Dean knew the answer to that, in theory. He explained what he knew about demon possession and how demons usually chose someone with emotional distress or a weakness.

Sam guessed that Amanda might be a little distressed right now because it's her first flight after the crash. Dean and Darcy agreed.

They figured out which attendant was Amanda. Next, they had to test if she was possessed. Dean wanted to go the forceful direct method with holy water but Darcy suggested they try something more subtle.

"If she's possessed, she'll flinch at the name of God."

Dean nodded and got out of his seat. Sam stopped him. "Say it in Latin," he suggested.

"I know," Dean said.

Both Darcy and Sam turned around, "Hey!"

Dean came back, "What?"

"In Latin, it's 'Christo'" Darcy said.

"Dudes I know," Dean said, "I'm not an idiot."

Sam and Darcy were alone. "So you seem to be a pretty easy flyer," Sam said.

"Yeah," Darcy replied, "I flew around a bit when I was a kid. Even went to Disney World once."

Sam honed in for a moment on the statement 'when I was a kid.'

"What about you?" Darcy asked, "You don't seem as nervous as your brother."

"I do know how he feels though," Sam said honestly, "My college friends and I went on trips every year. I've had a chance to get over it."

"All right, Well, she's gotta be the most well-adjusted person on the planet," Dean stated.

"You said Christo?" Sam asked

"Yeah."

"And?" Darcy asked.

"There's no demon in her." Dean answered, "There's no demon getting in her."

The realization that it now could be absolutely anyone on the plane set back in. The plane shook which caused Dean to panic again. Sam talked him down.

"You are leaving yourself wide open to demonic possession," Sam said, "you need to calm yourself, right now."

Darcy put her hand on his. It was gripping the armrest tightly. "Just breathe, Dean."

Dean let out a long breath.

"Good," Darcy said when she felt his hand loosen. She showed then their dad's journal. I found an exorcism in here that I think is going to work," Darcy said.

"The Rituale Romanum," Sam read.

"What do we have to do?" Dean asked.

Darcy explained what the Rituale Romanum was meant to do.

Dean again seemed to be back to himself a little, "Okay, Darcy and I will look around see if we have any luck finding the thing."

"What am I suppose to do," Sam asked. He knew all three of them couldn't start searching the plane without looking a little suspicious.

"You, little brother," Dean said, "start brushing up on your Latin."

Later

With less than fifteen minutes left Dean had found the demon. It was in the pilot. They needed help to get to him. Sam and Dean went to the back to talk to Amanda while Darcy kept tabs on the pilot. There wasn't a lot of places he could go but there was no way they would take a chance. Sam lead the conversation telling Amanda as much as she needed to know, which was a lot of information for one person.

Amanda reluctantly agreed to help them. She would bring the pilot back for a talk.

Darcy sat in a seat close to the front, pretending to read a newspaper. She checked her watch again as Amanda walked up to the cockpit and come back with the pilot. Darcy followed them and waited outside till Amanda came out.

"You can't go in there ma'am," she said.

"I'm with those guys," Darcy told her, "it's cool."

Darcy came in as Dean went flying back. She grabbed him and tried to keep him down. Dean was right behind her and both tried again to hold him down. Sam was reading the incantation. The Demon got an arm loose and backhanded Darcy across the face and threw her into the wall. She slid down wincing in pain. Dean went flying back too. The Demon started talking to Sam about Jessica. Dean jumped up quickly and punched him in the face. Darcy grabbed the Demon's shoulders. Sam kept reading then put down the book. The Demon kicked it into the cabin.

"The Journal!" Darcy exclaimed.

"I got him," Sam said taking Darcy's position. She quickly ran into the cabin.

A cloud of black smoke came out of the pilot and seeped into the airplane.

Darcy saw the journal a few feet ahead. She started moving forward when the plane started plummeting. The journal slid forward and went under a seat. Darcy stretched her arm across under it to try and reach and finally did. She pulled it out and looked behind her. Sam was on the ground a foot back.

"Sam!" she yelled. She sat up and handed him the journal so he could finish the incantation.

Moments later the plane was fine again. Sam helped Darcy up and went back to check on Dean while Darcy checked on the pilot and Amanda.

Airport

After giving statements to the police Dean and Sam waited for Darcy to finish too. Sam was upset about what the demon had said.

"These things," Dean told him, "they read minds. They lie. All right? That's all it was."

Sam nodded as Darcy walked up to them.

"Let's go," she said.

Jerry's Hangar

They had just said their goodbye's to Jerry when the question dawned on Dean. "How did you get my cell phone number anyway? I've only had it for like six months."

"You're dad gave it to me," Jerry answered.

All three were surprised by the answer. Jerry explained that when he called their dad, his voicemail told him to call Dean. Dean dialed his father's number. And all three leaned in to listen to the voicemail. Sure enough, the voice of John Winchester instructed them to call Dean's number if they needed help.

No one said anything. They got in the car and drove off.


	7. Bloddy Mary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bloody Mary is a Revenge spirit who has found a lot to feast on with our three hunters.

Motel  
Motel

Darcy was pouring through records trying to find anyone named Mary who might have died in front of a mirror. So far they had come up with nothing on the research front. The research was a little more difficult because the library computers were all out of order but the idea they were running with was that Bloody Mary had killed a man. Dean had been helping but had just stepped out to get everyone some lunch.

Sam gasped. He had been having another nightmare. "Why'd you let me fall asleep?"

"Because Dean is an awesome brother," Darcy answered, "he said you needed your rest. I agreed."

Sam looked around. "Where is he?"

"He's getting some food," Darcy answered, "So what'd you dream about?"

"Lollipops and candy canes," Sam answered.

Darcy didn't believe that. "Yeah, sure."

"Did you find anything?" Sam asked.

Darcy rubbed her eyes. "Besides a whole new level of frustration? No. We've looked at everything. A few local women, a Laura, and a Kathryn committed suicide in front of a mirror and a giant mirror fell on a guy named Dave but no Mary."

"Maybe we just haven't found it yet," Sam said with a sigh.

"I've also been searching for strange deaths in the area," Darcy said, "anything like how our guy died. There is nothing. Whatever is happening here maybe it just ain't Mary."

Dean walked in with two bags of food. "We got some trouble," he said putting the bags on the table. Sam's phone rang as Dean was telling them that another person died last night.

In the Park

Charlie, a teenage girl, had been the one who called Sam. Charlie met the hunters the day before at the wake of the first victim, her friend's dad. Now Charlie's other friend had also died the same way, in front of a mirror. The newest victim summoned Bloody Mary. Charlie thought that she was going insane.

Sam, Dean, and Darcy assured her that she wasn't and that they could stop other people from getting hurt but they would need her help.

Motel

Darcy was back to work, trying to find anything that she could. After the second victim, she decided to try a national search.

Dean and Sam were with Charlie at the last victim's house trying to gather more clues.

Darcy's phone rang.

"Hello," she answered, "Gary Bryman? Yeah. I'll call you back."

Sam had found the name written on the back of the mirror that Jill had died in front of.

It didn't take Darcy long to find the article on Gary Bryman. She called Sam back and relayed the information. He was a young boy, killed in a hit and run by a Toyota Camry. The driver was never identified.

Donna's House

Charlie had told Sam and Dean that Jill drove that car. This prompted Dean and Sam to go back to the first victim's house. On the back of the bathroom mirror was written 'Linda Shoemaker,' the name of the victim's wife. She had apparently died of an overdose of sleeping pills.

Donna, the first victim's daughter, was not very happy that two strangers were nosing around her house and kicked Sam and Dean out. Charlie stayed behind for her friend.

The Motel

The boys returned to the motel to find Darcy hard at work on the computer.

"You're doing a nationwide search?" Sam asked.

"Yep," Darcy answered, "The NCIC, the FBI Database. At this point, any Mary in the country who died in front of a mirror is good enough for me."

"But if she's haunting the town, she should have died in town," Sam replied.

"But there is nothing local," Darcy told him, "we checked."

Dean looked at Sam and shrugged. "Unless you have a better idea."

Sam pointed out the pattern that Mary was using to choose her victims. Dean said he was thinking the same thing. Both victims had secrets where people died. Darcy chimed in with the folklore about mirrors revealing your true soul. Dean and Sam continued talking.

"I've got something," Darcy interrupted, "take a look at this."

Darcy printed out and showed them a case report on Mary Worthington. She was from Fort Wayne, Indiana. The picture showed her dead in front of a mirror with a handprint and the letters "Tre..." Sam said that the handprint matched the one left on the backs of Bloody Mary's victim's mirrors.

"There is a detective listed on the case file," Darcy told them. She had been doing some typing while they looked the file over. "He's retired now but here is his home address. Maybe you guys can find out more from him."

"Right," Dean said, "we'll all go out there tomorrow."

"I can't," Darcy said.

"Why not," Sam asked.

Darcy signed and handed them another paper that was set aside. "I have a weird feeling about Charlie and this whole thing. I set this up earlier today."

Dean took the paper and read it. "Are you serious?"

Toledo High School

Darcy had faked some school records so she could keep an eye on Charlie. They had gotten through three periods without incident. Now they were in Charlie's science class and she looked upset. She had looked upset since she, and her friend Donna, had come out of the bathroom.

Charlie looked into a pocket mirror and started to freak out. She went screaming across the room and even threw a chair through a window before running out of the door.

Darcy slipped out through another door in the classroom and ran after Charlie.

She found her cowering in a corner trying to get away from all reflections.

"Charlie? Charlie, it's me, Darcy," she said squatting down next to the girl.

"She said it," Charlie muttered through her tears, "Donna said it."

Darcy pulled off her jacket and gave it to Charlie so that she could shield herself. "Where are your keys?" she asked.

Motel

Dean and Sam learned a lot on their trip. Mary Worthington's mirror was in a store in Toledo. On their way back Darcy called them from the motel and told them what happened at the school.

While they were waiting for the boys to get back, Darcy set to work covering or turning around any surface she could that had a reflection. She then sat on the bed next to Charlie and asked her what happened. Charlie told her about an old boyfriend that had killed himself after they had a fight.

The boys finally got back to the motel to check in with Darcy and Charlie and to plan what they were going to do next. Darcy agreed with Dean.

"I think we should find this mirror and smash it," Darcy said.

Dean shook his head. "You're staying here," he told her.

Darcy was dismayed by Dean's refusal to let her come on the hunt. He told her that she needed to stay back with Charlie and keep her company. She reluctantly agreed to do what asked,

In the car

"You know as well as I do spirits don't exactly see shades of gray, Dean," Sam replied. He and Dean were driving to the antique shop when Dean pointed out that Charlie's boyfriend's death wasn't her fault. "Charlie had a secret, someone died, that's good enough for Mary."

Dean knew this. It was the reason that he had made Darcy stay back in the motel room without mirrors. It was the gray area that Dean worried about with her. Four years earlier when Darcy started hunting with Dean and his father, the later had confided a secret to Dean. It was only known to Uncle Mike, Dean, and his father and it was the reason that Darcy's family had been targeted. Dean swore he would never tell anyone, even Darcy, the secret. Therefore, Darcy technically had a secret and her mother and brother died. Dean didn't want to risk Mary's vengeance.

"I guess," Dean said, focusing back on the job.

Motel

Darcy and Charlie were each sitting on a bed. They hadn't said much to each other since the boys left and Darcy was reading a book she bought at a local shop.

"So Dean and Sam are your cousins?" Charlie asked.

Darcy looked up from her book. "Yeah," Darcy answered.

"And you all drive around hunting… urban legends?"

"Not exclusively," Darcy said, "We go where we think something supernatural is hurting people and we stop it. It doesn't matter what it is."

"How old are you?"

Darcy put down her book. "I'm seventeen."

Charlie seemed stunned but this wasn't a topic that Darcy wanted to discuss.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, "I can probably order a pizza."

Charlie shook her head, "I could do with some water though. I just can't go into the bathroom."

Darcy smiled. "I'll get you some," she said, "I got nothing to fear."

Motel- Bathroom

Darcy grabbed a glass and began to fill it with water. She glanced up at the mirror and saw nothing but her reflection. The face staring back at her had an evil smirk about it that she knew wasn't on her own face. Then the reflection started bleeding from her eyes. Darcy dropped the glass when she realized her eyes were doing the same.

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked from outside the bathroom.

"Stay out," Darcy ordered and she slammed and locked the door.

It was all she could manage before her chest tightened.

"They're dead because of you," the reflection said.

Darcy fell to her knees in pain and then Mary was gone. Darcy gasped as the tightness in her chest disappeared. Mary had stopped but why? She unlocked the door and got out of the bathroom as fast as she could.

Antique Store

Sam had summoned Mary back to her window and was attacked. Dean smashed the mirror. They hoped that would destroy Mary and by the looks of it the plan worked. As they were leaving, Dean supporting Sam, Mary crawled out of her mirror and corporealized. Within a minute both boys were on the ground moaning in pain and bleeding from the eyes.

Dean acted quickly and grabbed a mirror. Mary had killed people and at the sight of her reflection, she was destroyed by her own M.O.

Motel

Darcy unlocked the door and let the boys into the room. All three looked frightening even though each had tried to wipe the blood from their eyes.

"Please tell me you got that bitch," Darcy said to them.

Outside Charlie's House

Dean drove up to Charlie's driveway with Sam in the passenger seat and Darcy and Charlie in the back.

"So this is really over?" Charlie asked.

Dean told her it was and Charlie got out of the car.

Sam stopped her and told her that she should forgive herself because she probably couldn't have stopped her boyfriend from doing what he did.

"Sometimes bad things just happen."

"That's good advice," Dean said looking at Sam. Dean then turned to Darcy, "for both of you."

Darcy glanced at him when he said that but quickly looked back out her window. They had talked a bit last night before Dean went to sleep. They were all exhausted. Darcy hadn't said much since. After she was positive the boys were asleep Darcy went into the bathroom and looked at the back of her mirror. She knew what names she would find there.

"Frank Harrison" "Lucy Harrison"


End file.
